Agenda item

PL/2023/08481 - Land at Red Barn, East of Kington St Michael, Chippenham

Meeting of Strategic Planning Committee, Thursday 23 January 2025 10.30 am (Item 9.)

Development of a solar farm of up to 40MW ac of export capacity, comprising the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, associated infrastructure and associated works including grid connection.

Minutes:

Public Participation

Chris Niker spoke in objection to the application.

Sarah Merrick, agent, spoke in support of the application.

Max Sealy spoke in support of the application.

Ian Pitman spoke in support of the application.

Simon Smith, Planning Manager, presented a report which recommended that permission be granted for development of a solar farm of up to 40MW of export capacity, comprising the installation of solar photovoltaic panels, associated infrastructure and associated works including grid connection. Key issues included the principle of development, the use of agricultural land, landscape and highways impacts, and other matters as set out in the report.

Details were provided on the proposed access for the site, the provision of a community orchard, and National Planning Policy Framework policies in support of renewable or low carbon development where impacts can be made acceptable.

Members of the Committee then had the opportunity to ask technical questions of the officers. Details were sought on the condition of local highways, with improvements required by conditions to ensure these were suitable for the construction traffic and other matters. Queries were also raised on assessing the level of visual or landscape impact of a solar farm, including the distance and direction from which there would be any detrimental visual impact. Officers stated there were some conflicts with relevant WCS policy in terms of developing the greenfield site, but when tested against the NPPF and having due regard to appeal decisions, officers reported that the application should be approved with the requisite planning conditions including appropriate mitigation.

Members of the public then had the opportunity to express their views, as detailed above.

The item was then opened for debate. There was discussion on the relevant planning policies relating to the benefits of renewable energy installations and associated infrastructure, as well as reflecting upon the long-term use of the site, and the diversification of farmland. On the motion of Cllr Jonathan Seed, seconded by Cllr Stewart Palmen, it was then,

Resolved:

That planning permission be granted subject to the following planning conditions:

Scope of permission

1. The development hereby permitted shall be begun before the expiration of three years from the date of this permission.

REASON: To comply with the provisions of Section 91 of the Town and Country Planning Act 1990 as amended by the Planning and Compulsory Purchase Act 2004.

2. The permission hereby granted shall be for a temporary period and shall expire 40 years from the date that electricity from the development is first exported to the electricity distribution network (‘First Export Date’) or no later than 44 years from the date of this decision, whichever is the sooner. Written confirmation of the First Export Date shall be provided to the Local Planning Authority no later than 1 calendar month after that First Export Date. Within 6 months of the date of expiry of this planning permission, or, if sooner, the cessation of the use of the solar panels for electricity generation purposes for a continuous period of 6 months, the solar panels together with any supporting/associated infrastructure including the substations, DNO substation, customer cabin, spare parts container, security equipment, poles and fencing shall be removed from the land and the land restored to its former agricultural condition in accordance with a scheme of work to be submitted to, and approved in writing by, the local planning authority. The scheme of work, including a restoration plan and a decommissioning scheme that takes account of a recent ecological survey, shall be submitted to the local planning authority not less than six months before the removal of the installation.

REASON: In the interests of amenity and the circumstances of the use and to ensure the long-term management of and ecological features retained and created by the development and in the interests of the significance of the heritage assets, their setting and the wider landscape.

3. The development hereby permitted shall be carried out in accordance with the following approved plans and details:

Plans for approval	Drawing no.
Site location plan	TOR-XX-XX-P-L-002 Rev C
Solar farm layout plan	EDR1008-101 Rev AB
Landscape planting plan	TOR-XX-XX-P-L-001 Rev S
PV array details	EDR1004-200
Fixed-tilt array details (2P)	EDR1008-202
Fixed-tilt array details (3P)	EDR1008-201
40ft (12.2m) central inverter substation details	EDR1008-206 Rev A
Customer substation building details	EDR1008-210 Rev B
Distribution network operator container details	EDR1008-211 Rev B
Customer cabin details	EDR1008-212 Rev B
Fence and gate details	EDR1008-214 Rev O
Security camera plan	EDR1008-215 Rev A
Maintenance road details	EDR1008-216
Hedge crossing details	EDR1008-217
Spare parts container details	EDR1008-222 Rev B
A350 Western Land Parcel – Proposed site access arrangement	2201-050 SK01 Rev D
A350 Eastern Land Parcel – Proposed site access arrangement	2201-050 SK02 Rev D
Southern Land Parcel – Proposed site access arrangement	2201-050 SK03 Rev D
Southern Land Parcel – Existing junction improvements	2201-050 SK04 Rev C
Proposed Day’s Lane Operational Access – Existing Junction Arrangement	2201-050 SK05 Rev A
Construction vehicle route	2201-050 Figure 3.1
Indicative Traffic Sign Management Plan: Access Construction	2201-050 SK13 Rev A
Indicative Traffic Sign Management Plan: Solar Construction	2201-050 SK14 Rev A
Allington Lane Audit passing area & signage plan	2201-050 SK15 Rev A
Tree protection plans	Tree Protection Plans PRI23824-03 Sheets 1 of 20 – Sheet 20 of 20
Drainage Strategy Page 1 of 2	20868-RAP-XX-XX-DR-D-3100 Rev P11
Drainage Strategy Page 2 of 2	20868-RAP-XX-XX-DR-D-3101 Rev P11
Documents for approval
Biodiversity Net Gain metric 4.0	30 April 2024
UK HabTable & Woodland Conditions Sheets 20240430	20240430
Environmental Statement	September 2023
ES Technical Appendix A1a Heritage desk-based Assessment	April 2024
ES Technical Appendix A2 Geophysical Survey Report	October 2021
ES Technical Appendix A3 Archaeological Evaluation	CR1477_ Rev B April 2024
ES Technical Appendix Ba Landscape and visual assessment	April 2024
ES Technical Appendix C1a Full Ecological Assessment	V10 April 2024
ES Technical Appendix C2 Bat report	July 2023 (Updated Sep 2023)
ES Technical Appendix C3 Breeding Bird Survey	V3 October 2023
ES Technical Appendix C4a Biodiversity Management Plan	V 11 April 2024
Environmental Statement Addendum	April 2024
Outline Construction Traffic Management Plan	Rev B April 2024
Flood risk assessment and drainage strategy	Rev 08 April 2024
Noise Assessment	24 April 2024
Arboricultural Impact Assessment	PRI23824aia Rev A 08.04.2024
Glint & Glare Assessment	Revision 5.0 05 April 2024

REASON: For the avoidance of doubt and in the interests of proper planning.

Drainage

4. No development shall commence on site until a drainage management plan, which shall include monitoring of, and measures to retain, the existing vegetation across the site, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The drainage management plan shall include a robust soil, grass, and/or land management plan maintaining vegetative areas in between the solar arrays at a long length to help interrupt and slow the channelised flows, reducing erosion and also enhance and promote the infiltration and interception capacity This should also include details of the regime for monitoring vegetation cover including frequency of visits, and set out remedial measures that could be implemented if problem areas are identified. The development shall be carried out in complete accordance with the agreed drainage management plan.

REASON: To ensure that surface water quality and quantity is managed throughout construction and so as not to increase flood risk, or pollution of watercourses.

5. No development approved by this permission shall be commenced until a Construction Environmental Management Plan (CEMP), incorporating pollution and other prevention measures, has been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The submitted CEMP must include safeguarding measures to deal with the following pollution risks and impacts:

Details of the protection of the watercourse during construction (eg. fencing)

the use of plant and machinery

wheel washing and vehicle wash-down and disposal of resultant dirty water

oils/chemicals and materials

the use and routing of heavy plant and vehicles

the location and form of work and storage areas and compounds

the control and removal of spoil and wastes.

How open excavations on site will be dealt with outside of working hours and after dusk to prevent entrapment of mammals that may cross the site

The arrangements to be made for water during the construction phase

The plan shall subsequently be implemented in accordance with the approved details and agreed timetable.

REASON: To prevent pollution of the water environment

6. No ground raising shall occur within Flood Zone 2 or 3 as a result of the approved development.

REASON: To prevent and minimize flood risk.

Archaeology

7. No development shall commence within the application site until an Archaeological Management Plan (which shall include a setting out how the risk to ditched enclosures in trenches T47-48, T41 and T153 will be mitigated prior to and during the construction and operational phases of the development), has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority

REASON: To enable the protection of any matters of archaeological interest.

8. No development shall commence within the application site until:

A written programme of archaeological investigation, which should include on-site work and off-site work such as the analysis, publishing and archiving of the results, has been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority; and

The approved programme of archaeological work has been carried out in accordance with the approved details.

REASON: To enable the recording of any matters of archaeological interest.

Tree protection

9. No development shall commence on site and no equipment, machinery or materials shall be brought on to site for the purpose of development until tree protective fencing has been erected in accordance with the details set out in the Arboricultural Impact Assessment and tree protection plans prepared by ACD Environmental dated 8 April 2024.

The protective fencing shall remain in place for the entire development phase and until all equipment, machinery and surplus materials have been removed from the site. Such fencing shall not be removed or breached during construction operations.

No retained tree/s shall be cut down, uprooted or destroyed, nor shall any retained tree/s be topped or lopped other than in accordance with the approved plans and particulars. Any topping or lopping approval shall be carried out in accordance British Standard 3998: 2010 “Tree Work – Recommendations” or arboricultural techniques where it can be demonstrated to be in the interest of good arboricultural practice.

If any retained tree is removed, uprooted, destroyed or dies due to the development, another tree shall be planted at the same place, of a size and species and planted at such time, that must be agreed in writing with the Local Planning Authority.

No concrete, oil, cement, bitumen or other chemicals shall be mixed or stored within 10 metres of the trunk of any tree or group of trees to be retained on the site or adjoining land.

[In this condition “retained tree” means an existing tree which is to be retained in accordance with the approved plans and particulars; and paragraphs above shall have effect until the expiration of five years from the first operation or the completion of the development, whichever is the later.

REASON: To enable the Local Planning Authority to ensure the retention of trees on the site in the interests of visual amenity and biodiversity.

Ecology

10. Prior to the commencement of works, including demolition, ground works/excavation, site clearance, vegetation clearance and boundary treatment works, a Construction Ecological Management Plan (CEMP) shall be submitted to the local planning authority for approval in writing. The Plan shall provide details of the avoidance, mitigation and protective measures to be implemented before and during the construction phase, including but not necessarily limited to, the following:

Identification of ecological protection areas/buffer zones and tree root protection areas and details of physical means of protection, e.g. exclusion fencing.

Working method statements for protected/priority species, such as nesting birds and reptiles.

Mitigation strategies already agreed with the local planning authority prior to determination, such as for great crested newts, dormice or bats; this should comprise the pre-construction/construction related elements of strategies only.

Work schedules for activities with specific timing requirements in order to avoid/reduce potential harm to ecological receptors; including details of when a licensed ecologist and/or ecological clerk of works (ECoW) shall be present on site.

Key personnel, responsibilities and contact details (including Site Manager and ecologist/ECoW).

Timeframe for provision of compliance report to the local planning authority; to be completed by the ecologist/ECoW and to include photographic evidence.

Development shall be carried out in strict accordance with the approved CEMP.

REASON: To ensure adequate protection and mitigation for ecological receptors prior to and during construction, and that works are undertaken in line with current best practice and industry standards and are supervised by a suitably licensed and competent professional ecological consultant where applicable.

11. No external light fixture or fitting will be installed within the application site (either during the constructional and operational phases) unless details of any proposed new lighting have been submitted to and approved by the Local Planning Authority in writing. The submitted details will demonstrate how the proposed lighting will impact on bat habitat compared to the existing situation.

The details and plans will be in accordance with the appropriate Environmental Zone standards set out by the Institution of Lighting Professionals (ILP) Guidance Notes on the Avoidance of Obtrusive Light (GN 01/2021) and Guidance note GN08/23 “Bats and artificial lighting at night”, issued by the Bat Conservation Trust and Institution of Lighting Professionals.

REASON: To avoid illumination of habitat used by bats and in the interests of the amenities of the area and to minimise unnecessary light spillage above and outside the development site.

12. Prior to the start of construction, a Landscape and Ecology Management Plan (LEMP) shall be submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The LEMP will include long term objectives and targets, management responsibilities and maintenance schedules for each ecological feature within the development, together with a mechanism for monitoring success of the management prescriptions, incorporating review and necessary adaptive management in order to attain targets.

The LEMP shall also include details of the legal and funding mechanism(s) by which long term implementation of the plan will be secured. The LEMP shall be implemented in full and for the lifetime of the development in accordance with the approved details.

REASON: To ensure the long-term management of landscape and ecological features retained and created by the development, for the benefit of visual amenity and biodiversity for the lifetime of the scheme.

13. All soft landscaping comprised in the approved details of landscaping shall be carried out in the first planting after completion of the development.

All vegetation [and biodiversity mitigation/enhancement features] shall be maintained in accordance with the Biodiversity Management Plan, 30 April 2024 for the duration of the development from the commencement of the scheme and shall be protected from damage.

Any trees or plants which, die, are removed, or become seriously damaged or diseased due to the development shall be replaced in the next planting season with others of a similar size and species, unless otherwise agreed in writing by the local planning authority.

The installation of the biodiversity mitigation and enhancement measures will be supervised by a professional ecologist and will continue to be available for wildlife for the lifetime of the development.

REASON: To ensure a satisfactory implementation and maintenance of the Biodiversity Mitigation and Enhancement Strategy.

14. Prior to the commencement of development, full and complete details of the proposed Skylark mitigation measures shall have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The development shall be carried out incorporating the agreed mitigation measures, which shall remain in place throughout the lifespan of the development.

REASON: So as to secure the Skylark mitigation measures for the duration of the development.

Highways

15. No development shall commence on site until full engineering details of the site accesses from the A350 and the improvements to the Allington Lane/Tor Hill crossroads, together with appropriate details for traffic management, have been submitted to and approved in writing by the Local Planning Authority. The improvements to the accesses shall be constructed and laid out in accordance with the approved details prior to any development commencing on the sites.

REASON: To ensure that the access junctions are laid out and constructed in a satisfactory manner.

16. No development shall commence on site until a visibility splay for the Eastern access from the A350 has been provided between the edge of the carriageway and a line extending from a point 4.5m metres back from the edge of the carriageway, measured along the centre line of the access, to a point on the edge of the carriageway 295 metres to the north from the centre of the access, in accordance with the approved plans. Such splay shall thereafter be permanently maintained free from obstruction to vision above a height of 900mm above the level of the adjacent carriageway.